Meditation: A Time-Honored Practice for Rejuvenation & Reflection - Essay Sample

Introduction

Meditation is not a new practice and has been with humanity since time immemorial. However, many are the people who engage in the practice without necessarily knowing that they are doing it. Meditation’s principal purpose is to shift the focus of the mind away from unpleasant thoughts such as worries, struggles, finances, and family, among others. Therefore, someone who meditates can be said to be reflecting on a certain issue or seeking peace of mind. Meditation is a key practice in nursing. Meditation has several benefits, and this explains the reason that the number of people meditating has been found to increase day by day. Through meditation, one is able to have control of their thoughts, manage their life, and discover themselves.

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Treatment Effectiveness/Outcome of Meditation

When done regularly, meditation helps the person to steer away from destructive thoughts, thereby mitigating the symptoms of stress and anxiety. People who have the habit of meditating feel fresh mentally and are able to handle challenging or strenuous occasions easily. Psychology teaches that meditation is a regular practice in nursing to help patients stabilize their emotions. The effects of intense stress and anxiety can lower the rate of recovery of a patient. As such, patients are encouraged to meditate as a way of reducing stress and anxiety. This way, they are able to hasten their recovery process.

Although the basic principles and practices of meditation have a long religious background related to Hinduism, the practice itself does not need to be linked with any religion. The use of meditation has considerably evolved due to the benefits associated with it. Iqbal, Singh, and Aleem (2016) cited that meditation makes it possible for a person to step outside a specific situation and open up bolder points of view. With such kind of a reaction, it becomes possible to deal with the responses that are destructive to the body. Thus, being able to meditate properly makes it possible for a person to recognize emotional pain and deal with it and avoid being oppressed by it. Meditation to anyone with mental disturbances can be likened to a cancer patient who takes drugs to relieve pain, such as morphine, and such a drug helps to relieve the pain, but the patient still remains aware of it. In the same manner, the meditating person is able to control their mental disturbances and avoid any adverse effects.

From a psychological perspective, inner self-acceptance is considered the core of inner harmony as well as peace. If this is absent, then there is going to be disorder and chaos in people. This explains why meditation is a key factor in accepting themselves and be able to have inner peace. Any attempt that seeks to change the mind in a bad way may lead to non-acceptance and trouble. It is also essential to cite that love and compassion are major parts of meditation. Meditation cannot be practicable without love and compassion. Iqbal, Singh, and Aleem (2016) found out that even though meditation is a peaceful process, it may lead to frustrations if not well done. To make the outcome of meditation favorable and pleasing, there is the need to obtain harmony during the process. Thus, a poorly done meditation may be a significant cause for deception, anger, frustration, and misinterpretation of the real meaning of meditation.

The modern society is laced without different distractors, and everyone is keen on finding happiness and eliminate any form of suffering, whether physical or mental. Happiness is so important to people that they will go any extent to ensure that they find it. People in search of happiness may decide to look for it in possessions such as houses, cars, and leisure, among others. There are others who will seek happiness in events such as sporting activities. What stands common in all these is that people try to seek happiness from things outside themselves, not aware that happiness is still within them. While happiness may still be found in things outside oneself, such as friends and possessions, it is essential to aspiring to get mental and spiritual discipline, which helps a person to get happiness through meditation.

It is prudent to mention that mediation is not an assurance that one will not experience suffering. What meditation does is that it helps people to see things in a new and better way. In this way, it becomes easy to solve those problems. In today’s world, meditation is used in hospitals, prisons, and classrooms, among other areas. This increased usage of meditation has been due to the positive outcomes that it comes up with. However, it is possible to have meditation being misused.

Bilican (2016) stated that meditation requires discipline, and if this is not adhered to, then the outcome might not be pleasant. Many people practice meditation, expecting immediate results. This is in line with the way that they get something that they require as quickly as possible in daily life. However, this may not be so with the mind. The mind needs to be brought under control in a slow pace before it can adapt.

New scientific research has made it possible for psychiatrists to look at the effectiveness of some medicines in the treatment of certain conditions. It is to be noted that some medicines have been consistently used but without proper results. Studies have shown that such medicines have limits, and they cannot be used for certain extents. Medicine cannot cure everything. Thus, the psychiatrist needs to involve the patient in the treatment process. Drugs used to treat issues such as stress, depression, and anxiety have proved futile since they have not been able to cure such conditions effectively (Bilican, 2016). In such cases, psychiatrists have recommended the use of meditation as a major factor. In many countries, such as the US and the UK, meditation has been very popular in the treatment of stress and depression. While traditionally, meditation has been seen as a preserve for the highly educated upper classes people, the lower-income classes have also started using meditation as a cure for certain conditions.

Conclusion

Meditation has been termed as one of the best medicines of the mind. It has presented positive income when dealing with issues of the mind, such as stress, depression, and anxiety. When done regularly, meditation helps the person to steer away from destructive thoughts, thereby mitigating the symptoms of stress and anxiety. People who have the habit of meditating feel fresh mentally and are able to handle challenging or strenuous occasions easily. Due to the positive outcomes, the use of meditation has been extended to areas such as hospitals, prisons, and classrooms, among other areas. Current research is advocating for the use of meditation, where the use of medicine has proved ineffective.

References

Bilican, F. (2016). The Relationship Between Focused Attention Meditation Practice Habits, Psychological Symptoms, and Quality of Life. Journal of Religion and Health, 55(6), 1980-1995. Retrieved May 27, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/44157057

Iqbal, N., Singh, A., & Aleem, S. (2016). Effect of Dynamic Meditation on Mental Health. Journal of Religion and Health, 55(1), 241-254. Retrieved May 27, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/26749241